Supporting academic excellence

Grizzlies fall short at regionals
March 06, 2013

Vaughan, ON – March 5th, 2013 – It was the biggest tournament of the season for the Georgian Grizzlies men’s indoor soccer team as they headed to the Ontario Soccer Association Soccer Centre in Vaughan, ON to compete in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) regionals on Tuesday, March 5th.

On the line was a spot in the OCAA Championship in a few weeks but to get there the Grizzlies would have to get passed some stiff competition in the Algoma Thunderbirds, Fanshawe Falcons and Seneca Sting.

Up first for Georgian were the Falcons from London.

The Grizzlies controlled much of the match and put together arguably their best start of the season. A brilliant goal by Brennan Reynolds-Baker gave Georgian a much important lead, but in the late stages it all fell apart.

Some undisciplined play by the Grizzlies led to two quick goals in the dying minutes to give the Falcons the lead and the win.

With their backs against the wall, Georgian needed to find a way to win their match against Algoma to have any hopes of earning a spot out of their pool to qualify for the provincials.

The Grizzlies responded coming out of the gate strong and goals by Reynolds-Baker and Marcus Lees gave Georgian the lead. The Thunderbirds continued to pressure the Grizzlies and were able to get a goal to pull within one but that was as close as they could get.

The win set up a must win game for the Grizzlies but the task wouldn’t be easy as they faced last year’s silver medalists, the Seneca Sting.

Georgian was able to hold their own against a very strong Sting squad. Marcus Lees continued to dazzle on the pitch but two narrow misses that hit the goal post kept the Grizzlies from getting the board.

With the Grizzlies down 2-0 they took their chances on offence but were unable to get on the board and eventually fell in a hard fought battle 3-0 to the Sting.

The loss eliminated the Grizzlies from contention but with a great effort and season of development under Head Coach Frank Delisimunovic, Georgian has set themselves up for future success going forward.